Fastener for bottle-stoppers.



G. R. SGHIMMEL. A FASTENER FOR BOTTLE STOPPERS.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 1e, 1911.

1,01 5,841, Patented Jari. 3o, 19142.

UNITED STATES PATENT FFTCE.

GUSTAV R. SCHIMMEL, 0F DETROIT, MICHIGAN.

FASTENER FOR BOTTLE-STOPPERS.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, GUs'rAv R. SCHIMMEL, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Detroit, in the county of `Wayne and State of Michigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Fasteners for Bottle-Stoppers, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

This invent-ion relates to devices for fastening the Stoppers of bottles, vials, etc., `and it has for one of its objects the provision of one or more pronged members in engagement with the stopper in conjunction with a separately applied fragile holder which engages said prong-member and the anged neck portion of a bottle, so that the stopper which may he of cork, rubber or similar. substance) cannot be removed without break- 1 ing or tearing the holder. Consequently the condition of this holder serves as an indicator whether the bottle has been tampered with, or not, a feature which is especially advantageous when the contents of the vials should be preserved intact and in sanitary conditions, as for instance, in the case of hypodermic needles and similar instruments.

The present invention is an improvement on that for which an application for Letters Patent was filed by me under SerialNo. 627,226 led May 15, 1911,to which reference may be had, and it is clearly illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which similar characters denote similar parts, and in which- Figure 1 is a side view of a vial having a stopper fastener embodying my invention applied thereto; Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional view of the top portion of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 represents a spread-out view of the fragile holder preferably employed, the same consisting of three connected rings; Fig. 4 illustrates another way of applying the holder shown in Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 1, but shows a 2-ring holder; Fig. 6 illustrates the 2-ring holder in detail; Fig. 7 shows the 3-ring holder used in connection with a tapered stopper; and Fig. 8 illustrates the 2-ring holder in connection with a tapered stopper.

Referring to the drawings, 10 denotes a glass vial of ordinary construction having a ared or bell-shaped mouth rim or flange 10 to which one part of my improved fastener is attached. A metal ring 11, having prongs 11, is placed over the flange 10 so Specification of Letters Patent.

Application led .Tune 15, 1911.

Patented Jan. 30, 1912. Serial No. 633,495.

that the prongs project downward into the vial and into the path of a stopper to be insorted. A holder 12 (see Figs. 1, 2 and 3) consisting preferably of three rings a, l), c connected in pairs by webs 12, 12 respectively, is slipped with its ring o over the bottle or vial until it brings up against the underside of the flange 10', and the rings a and Z9 are then foldedover said flange, thus bringing` the apertures of the rings into alinement with the opening of the bott-leneck. A stopper S of any suitable material is then passed through the rings a, c into the bottle-neck, past the prongs 11 which will then engage the surface of the stopper and prevent its retrograde movement relative thereto. This means, of course, that the cork cannot be withdrawn without tearing one or both of the webs 12, 12. Inasmuch as the cork may, under the conditions thus far described, be pushed far enough into the bottle that the top rings a, and c could be folded back again, the cork with the retainer 11 then be withdrawn and another cork be substituted, all without damaging the holder in any way, means are provided whereby such substitut-ion is prevented, these means consisting of another retainer 13 which is attached to the cork with the prongs 13 upw-ard, as shown in Fig. 2. This retainer 13 may be attached to the cork beforehand, substantially as indicated in the upper part of Fig. 4, and then, when the cork is pushed into place, as per Figs. 1 and 2, the retainer will serve as a shoulder to limit the downward movement of the cork, so that consequently the cork cannot be pulled out without destroying either of the webs 12 or 12", or both, or tearing the rings.

In Fig. 4 I have illustrated a modification of the manner of applying the lower retainer to the holder, the llatter beingprimarily passed with its prongs through the ring a (see dotand dash lines), and the latter is then folded against the ring b, after which this double ring and retainer may be swung around web 12 into place over the botltle-neck, ready for the insertion of the cor In Fig. 5, the holder consists of a tworing device 14, the ring Z being adapted to pass over the body of the bottle against the underside of the neck flange, and the ring c is folded over the retainer 11. When the cork S with its retainer or shoulder 13 is then forced into place, it cannot be withdrawn without breaking the web 14.

In each of the instances above described, the cork S is of the true cylindrical variety, so that the upper retainer is applied merely in the nature of a collar or shoulder. In Figs. 7 and 8, the cork S is of the tapering variety, which can enter the bottle-neck only for a certain distance as limited by the tapered body of the cork, so that in these instances the upper retainer may be dispensed with. In Fig. 7, the lower retainer is held by the three-ring holder l2, and in Fig. 8, the two-ring holder is used.

I claim:

l. A fastener for bottle Stoppers comprising a retainer adapted to permit the insertion of a stopper in one direction and a holder comprising a pair of ring-sections disposed below the mouth flange of the bottle and above said retainer, respectively.

2. A fastener for bottle stoppers comprising a stepper retainer perforated to admit the insertion of a stopper and disposed above the mouth ange of a bottle, and a holder comprising a pair of rings in engagement with the underside of said flange and the upper face of said retainer, respectively both rings being connected by a fragile web.

3. The combination with a bottle having a flanged neck, of a stopper retainer consisting of a ring having prongs projecting into said neck and perforated to admit a stopper, a holder made of fragile material and comprising a plurality of rings engaging said flange and retainer and connected by a web, whereby the stopper is prevented from removal without destroying said web;

In testimony whereof I afiX my signature in presence of two witnesses.

GUSTAV It. SCHIMMEL.

Vitnesses:

F. E. ERNST, ANNA C. RAVILER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C. 

